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Nuclear power as an issue in Tokyo’s governor election

ballot-boxSmflag-japanTokyo governor’s race puts nuclear power to electoral test, Aljazeera by E. Tammy Kim @etammykim February 7, 2014 High-profile candidates challenge front-runner’s support for restarting nuclear plants and for PM Abe’s national agenda As Tokyo prepares to elect its next governor on Feb. 9 — a vote occasioned by a resignation mired in corruption — more than local politics is at stake. The race has become something of a referendum on key national policies, including nuclear power, social services for a ballooning senior population and current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attack on Japan’s post–World War II “peace constitution.” There are four main candidates: Hosokawa; progressive human-rights lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya; former Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Yoichi Masuzoe, Abe’s preferred man and, until last week, the clear leader in most opinion polls; and Toshio Tamogami, the ultra-nationalistic hawk who once led the Japanese air force…….

An anti-nuclear Tokyo governor, while lacking a controlling stake in TEPCO, could join other shareholders to oppose restarting the nuclear power plants. In theory, the city could also change its energy supplier from TEPCO to another utility. 

So far, nuclear worries lag behind economic concerns for most Tokyo voters…….

, three of the four top contenders — including Masuzoe — made a point of opposing nuclear energy at least in the long term, though specific alternatives remain elusive.

With so many candidates making anti-nuclear vows, advocates who had hoped for a unified endorsement worry about splitting their votes. “We had asked the (anti-nuclear) candidates to consolidate, but unfortunately that was rejected,” said Hajime Matsukubo, international liaison for the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center.

“Now we hope that any anti-nukes candidate will win the election.” http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/in-tokyo-electionreferendumonnuclearpowerandnationalpolicies.html

February 9, 2014 - Posted by | Uncategorized

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